Title: Updates in Oral Chemotherapy - Can One (Bite)-Size Cure All?

Until recently, oral chemotherapy made up a relatively small proportion of drugs administered to treat cancer, but over the last decade, the number of oral anticancer drugs and their use have significantly increased and are predicted to continue to rise. With the increasing use of oral chemotherapy, there has been heightened appreciation of the unique challenges associated with its use, especially in relation to prescribing, dispensing, reimbursement, adherence, and patient and family education. This program will discuss the barriers that exist with oral chemotherapy (barriers to adherence) and associated safety issues (medications errors with prescribing/dispensing/administration). The program will discuss skills and techniques to support the community pharmacist's role in optimizing the safe use of oral chemotherapy.

Program Objectives:At the completion of this activity, the participant will be able to:1. Explain the most recent literature on some of the most commonly prescribed oral chemotherapy agents (mechanism of action, approved indications, and safety profile).2. Describe key concepts in the literature on adherence to oral chemotherapy (including adherence barriers).3. Identify the pharmacist’s role in optimizing the safe use of oral chemotherapy (medication errors, patient education and medication monitoring).